Cease from Exploration
by Levenbreech Vor
Summary: In the Rama books Richard Wakefield leaves his wife, and child to explore and study Rama. The books make no mention what happens during the 3.5 years that he disappears into the Raman wilderness.
1. New York

**New York  
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"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started…and know the place for the first time."

-T.S. Eliot

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_DISCLAIMER – Rendezvous with Rama is, and always will be (until Sir. Arthur C. Clarke dies and his books become public domain), the property of Arthur C. Clarke. Therefore I'm not responsible for anything I say! (kind of…)_

_NOTE – I am a devote sci-fi fan and particularly love the Rama series. In the Rama books a prominent character (and my favorite) Richard Wakefield leaves his wife, Nicole, and child to explore and study the Rama environment. Although Richard is ridiculously intelligent (according to IQ and other tests in the top 99.999 of human beings) the books make no mention to his finds during the 3.5+ years that he disappears into the Raman wilderness. This fanfic is to clear up what transpires during May 7 2205 - February 4, 2209 earth-time._

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**May 1, 2205 **

Rama had just gone through its 1947th night-day cycle as Richard walked out of his makeshift New York house. He stood amidst the towering, metallic black obelisks and stretched. The "sun" rose from behind the three-pronged mountains in the Southern Hemicylinder. Richard looked north over the Cylindrical Sea toward Moscow, Bombay, Beijing, Tokyo and the airlocks from which he had come. He could still remember vividly the entrance into Rama. He missed the rest of the crew and wondered what had become of them. Nicole and he had gotten lost and didn't meet up with the crew when it was departure time. They had meet up with Michel O'Toole who had also gotten lost just in time to ride the Avian's to New York. They had just narrowly escaped "Monsoon" season in Rama. Richard reminisced all the way back to his childhood in Stratford-upon-Avon, where he was a misunderstood genius. He had had no friends but instead became obsessed with Stratford's celebrity, William Shakespeare. He had created two three-inch robots based on Shakespearian characters that would always be his friends. He didn't need them any more though because he had Nicole, Simone, and Michel.

As Richard stood there gazing off into the distance of Rama, Nicole came up from behind and placed her arm around him. She knew he had to go, to explore. He was too curious and too intelligent to remain locked up in the bunker they called home. She feared for his safety when he left, and for hers. Who would protect her from increasingly frequent Octospider attacks, and who would use the Raman computer to make food and necessary supplies? Michel was well over 50 and couldn't do everything Richard could but she wouldn't think about those things right now, for right now she had Richard.

Richard was bored, for he had very little to work on, and a man as inquisitive as he constantly needed a goal. The only activities he truly enjoyed now was attempting to understand the strange black screen that he assumed was a Raman computer, and tinkering with his creations (three little robotic Shakespearian characters with whom one can have conversations with). These activities occupied much of his time, but what he really wanted to do was to explore Rama. Well over 5,850 square miles of Rama, and he had seen less then 50. Suddenly, his train of thought was interrupted by Michel complaining that he was hungry, so Richard went to make dinner.

Richard stood before the ebony display thinking of the chemical compound for water, and on the black conveyer belt came three literjons full of pure H2O. Richard loved this challenge, trying to explain things to the computer only using math and science terms as a bridge between English and Raman. He then thought of an assortment of organic compounds and created the nutrient rich glop that the Wakefield's had been living off of. But Richard did not immediately sit down with the others and eat; he had another task. One by one Richard called forth molecules, like dawn brings the sun. First came carbon, then nitrogen, and hydrogen to make natural atoms stringed together with many other elements. After much work the final result was achieved; he took the object as it rolled out of the black opening and walked out of their shelter. Richard kept walking down Broadway, the main street of their strange environment, and made a quick left toward the waterfront. He deposited the fruit of his labors into a heap of materials and began to build.

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**May 7, 2205**

Awoken by a slight movement by Nicole, Richard realized he was behind schedule. He quickly, yet quietly, moved toward the computer made several commands and filled he bag with food and water. Although he was busy gathering his supplies he paused for a moment and stared at Nicole and his beautiful child Simone, he knew he might never see them again. As he gazed he felt tears welling up, but he suppressed them, to proud to show his fear of what laid ahead. He rushed out of their under ground habitat to find the Raman sun shining bright like always. The only thing more beautiful then his family, he decided, was knowledge.

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_Well there you have it, the first Chapter of my first fan fiction. Please feel free to tell me what you think about it by reviewing. For those of you who know the story let me know if I slip up on a factual bit, I try to keep it close to the book._

_-Levenbreech Vor_


	2. Cylindrical Sea

**Cylindrical Sea**

"We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started…and know the place for the first time."

-T.S. Eliot

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DISCLAIMER – Rendezvous with Rama is, and always will be (until Sir. Arthur C. Clarke dies and his books become public domain), the property of Arthur C. Clarke. Therefore I'm not responsible for anything I say! (kind of…)_

_NOTE – Some notes to put fic in context for non-Rama familiar readers. Biots are biological robots that the Ramans use as crew for Rama. They are not seen often and each type has a specific duty. Spider biots are completely different then octospiders (yes I know, sci-fi books are confusing). Lastly, the "Monsoon Season" that I keep referring to is a huge storm that goes on in Rama for several weeks after Rama ends its traveling through deep space. This storm cleans out Rama, fills the Sea, and does several other tasks that one finds out about in Garden of Rama. The Monsoon Season is incredibly dangerous and can have winds in excess of 300 mph. Enjoy!_

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**May 7, 2205**

The wind flew through his hair, as Richard bent over to run his hand through the water. He had uncovered the secret of the Cylindrical Sea long before now but he was still fascinated by it, a band of water running all the way around the inside of Rama ten kilometers across. Richard noted the irony that the Ramans, although advanced beyond human's imagination, still required a source of water. The Sea is the life-blood of Rama, it caused the "Monsoon Season", it created the biots, and regulated several other actives that Richard could only speculate about. He brought his hand up and felt the "water". "It's thicker than any water I've ever seen", he muttered to himself as he peered into its depths and saw the history of the Earth. Billions of years ago the water on Earth had been like this, an organic soup of single celled organisms.

As he pondered the water, his makeshift boat was rocked by swell after swell, until the rocking of his ramshackle dinghy was so fierce that he had to look up at the Sea. He saw something that frightened him more then his first encounter with the octospiders, or the close encounter with Earth's nuke, he saw a line the entire length of the Sea slowly moving down the wall of Rama gaining speed. Just as he realized that that line was a huge tidal wave a precursor to this monster struck his boat, knocking him off his ship.

Richard struggled up to the surface where wave upon wave forced him under again. He search desperately for his boat but only found a few shards and promptly grabbed them, holding on for dear life while he was buffeted in all directions.

**May 9, 2205**

A particularly large upsurge pushed Richard into the smooth black wall that was the edge of the Cylindrical Sea. The limp form of Richard strapped to some wood was hit against the Sea's wall several times before Richard responded.

He first opened one eye and took in his surroundings. The Sea was significantly calmer, but still choppy. He sat up and scanned the horizon for the tidal wave, nowhere in sight. Soon he realized that the tidal wave was the least of his predicaments, as he had lost all of his food and supplies.

"Now's not the time to despair", he mumbled. "First I've got to get on to dry land."

Richard looked at the 50 foot cliff of smooth black material, the same metal that the entirety of New York was made of, and realized how difficult this would be.

"Damn! How can I scale a 50 foot smooth cliff that ends in the water with just a piece of wood?" He said into the wind, "Oh well, I'm arguably the best engineer in the world, I should be able to figure this out."

First he examined the wall. The wall was perfect. There were no blemishes, no marks, just perfectly smooth black wall as far as the eye could see. Next he felt the wall, cold and hard.

**May 10, 2205**

Richard was on the remains of his boat not moving. By this time he was too hungry to do anything, let alone attempt to ascend an impossibly difficult cliff. The irony of this situation deprived Richard of as much willpower as lack of food did. He, Richard, who had some of the most impressive credentials on Earth, was one of the most intelligent people on Earth, had braved Rama, Monsoon Season, and the Cylindrical Sea just to die because of a wall. Suddenly, Richard noticed a slight movement at the top of the cliff. He barely had time to open both eyes before a crab biot grabbed him and began to climb the cliff with Richard on his back.

Richard was familiar with two types of biots; Spiders, and Centipedes, and each had their own specific purpose. Centipede biots worked on the mechanical aspect of Rama, while Spiders acted as security. Although this Crab biot was completely new to him, it looked dangerous. He felt new strength return to him as the biot reach the top, and Richard jump free of the biot narrowly grabbing the edge. He pulled himself over and gazed of into the southern hemisphere.

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Sorry about how cliché it is to have so much disastrous stuff happened to him, but the tidal wave does happen soon after he leaves in the books. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think about it, how I can improve, and whether or not I'm factual in relation to the books._

_-Levenbreech Vor_


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